Marjorie Cecelia Buckhannan

Marjorie Buckhannan, 89, was born May 3, 1924 in Galveston, TX to Roy and Lucie Kaiser Henckel and passed away December 28, 2013 in Beaumont, TX.
A gathering of family and friends will be from 5:00 – 7:00 PM, Monday, December 30 at Claybar Kelley-Watkins Funeral Home. Funeral service, with Reverend Pat Richey officiating, will take place 2:00 PM, Tuesday, December 31 at St. Stephens Episcopal Church and interment will follow at Forest Lawn Memorial Park.
Mrs. Buckhannan is survived by her daughters, Patsy Blanchette, Mickey Crutchfield and husband, Ray of Spring and Colleen Farrow and husband Guy of Vidor; grandchildren, Bill Blanchette and Josh, Chasity and Heather Farrow; 10 great grandchildren and 11 great-great grandchildren; her sister Mary Lou “Mi-Mi” Vickery; numerous nieces and nephews and a host of friends.
She was preceded in death by her husband, James Buckhannan, grandson, Ed Blanchette and brother, Ray Henckel, Jr.
The family requests that memorial donations be made to St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 4090 Delaware St., Beaumont, TX 77706 or the Alzheimer’s Association, 700 North St., Suite M, Beaumont, TX 77701.

When Margie was growing up, her daddy called her “Lady”. She remained a lady staying youthful and beautiful longer than most. She married and had three children, all girls. Her children were always first in her life. During hard times, she took on the unappealing job of plucking and cleaning out turkeys one Christmas to make sure her children had gifts. During their school years, she would sew all summer to be sure they had new clothes for the upcoming school year. She would always make sure her children had something to eat, while she often lived on coffee and cigarettes.
To give her children a better life, she took a career long before women’s liberation. She taught them independence and strength, as well as many organizational skills, one of her specialties. The children were happy because of her and the extended family that surrounded them with love. They loved their mother and she loved them.
As the children grew to adulthood, there were many weekends shared with the four of them taking shopping trips or just sitting and talking with each other for hours on end. There was much laughter and happy times, too many to count. She was always there for them and they were there for her. But time had a way of passing faster than we realized.
As life went on, she reached her 80th birthday. She was happy and surrounded by family and friends that day, despite the rainy weather. Her golden years were ahead and her children held her closer each year that passed.
Very slowly the stranger came to visit and began to take away her mind, she began to live in the past and talk to and about those long gone as if they were in the here and now. In her mind, her children were young again and she worried that they were being taken care of. From her assisted care room, she would sit and stare out the window at the driveway and say she was waiting to see her daddy pull up to come get her in his pickup truck. She would say she had just spoken to her husband, who was also no longer here. Then she would come back to today and talk of shopping trips and getting that new purse she wanted, always one of her greatest pleasures.
But the stranger continued to visit on a regular basis and she slipped away more and more each year, taking with him her personality and emotions. When the children would visit, they would ask, “What’s my name?” She would stare at their face, blink a few times, and then answer correctly. There was less and less conversation and they would often leave with only that one word given. But that was her gift to them. Somewhere in that darkness, she still had her children in her mind and could tell them their name.
At 89 years old, Margie went to sleep for the last time on December 28, 2013.

We, her children, believe she woke after her sleep. Her mind was clear and she was feeling wonderful and rested. She rose to dress and put on her favorite clothes and picked up her favorite purse. She opened the front door and closed it behind her. There was a cool breeze outside and the sun was warm on her face. She was smiling when she turned to see daddy in his pickup truck waiting at the curb to take her home.
Remembrances from Margie’s Girls